


The Thomson Experiment

by Greeks vs Geeks (Wonderfullydepressedandlustful)



Series: Jasico fic dump [7]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, M/M, Nobody is Dead, and a lot, and burning cards, but a nice one, chem partners au, i'm sure there is more, jason is a jock, long story, mentions of a Ouija board, nico is a genius, oh yeah, really rich business men, they are both sons of business men, with science at least
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-17
Updated: 2015-08-18
Packaged: 2018-04-15 06:47:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4596915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wonderfullydepressedandlustful/pseuds/Greeks%20vs%20Geeks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico was looking forward to his Chemistry class. Until they were told they had to be partners with the person sitting next to them. Which turns out to be a blonde haired jock by the name of Jason Grace.  Now, he was starting to look forward to it less. But maybe Jason Grace isn't all what he seems. And they do say that opposites attract....</p><p>Discontinued as of 3/18/18</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Nico was actually excited for Chemistry class. He enjoyed seeing how different chemicals mixed together and what to look for, along with the fact that a single slip up could end up in an explosion (they had found that out when Leo Valdez somehow managed to drop burning magnesium in a test tube full of chlorine trifluoride, causing a sudden evacuation of the whole science department and the fire department coming to extinguish the whole room. The principal was extremely furious and the only reason Leo didn’t get expelled was because the entire science department magically got new stools and desks a week later that were more efficient and actually made for science experiments. Needless to say, Leo was a lucky fucker).

What was even more exciting was the fact that he was doing it a whole year earlier thanks to the science department allowing him to test out of biology and go straight into chemistry. The down side to all of this was that 1) he was the youngest kid in his class and 2) all of the upperclassmen that he usually avoided now had a class with him. It was his luck that his long time crush Percy Jackson was in his class. Somehow all of his friends had managed to get in the same class, making it impossible for Nico to avoid the group like he wanted.

So, the first day of school, Nico walks into Chemistry groggily( hey, it’s his first period, give him a break) to find that most of the tables are already taken by upperclassmen, leaving only a few odd seats and the very back table in the right corner of the room. Nico darted to it as fast as he could. Just because he was looking forward to the class didn’t mean that he wanted to draw attention to himself. He busied himself for the next couple of minutes before the bell by pulling out his iPod and scrolling through his music. The first day was really just a blow off day where you got your supply list and a bunch of paperwork. The most he would be expected to do is say his name and participate in some weird ‘get to know each other” exercise that they always had to do. The bell rang just as a flash of purple ran through the doorway. The teacher, Ms. Demenchi, gave the blur a disapproving look.

“Mr. Grace, I hope you do not make tardiness a habit. There is an open seat next to-” she looked back towards Nico and smiled slightly. She was the teacher that gave him the test out for biology and insisted he be in her class. “-next to Mr. di Angelo. Please take a seat so that I can get started with my class.”

Nico glared at the approaching boy for a minute before he actually started looking at the kid. He was tall, with blonde hair that was cut very neatly and light blue eyes. He gave off the whole ‘All-American Boy’ vibe and Nico was pretty sure that this kid was planning on being the star quarterback for his high school goal. Great, now a jock would be sitting next to him. It could be worse, he supposed. At least it wasn’t Octavian, the blonde hair junior that seemed like a psychopath. That kid had issues.

The blonde plopped down in the seat next to him and slung his bag on the ground. He looked embarrassed, most likely from being in trouble on the first day of school already. Turning to Nico, he held out his hand. “Um hey, I’m Jason Grace.” He introduced, giving Nico a charming smile that did not make Nico’s heart skip a beat. Damn it, why were all the jocks attractive in one way or another? It wasn’t fair. Nico stared at his hand until Jason slowly dropped it.

“Nico.” He finally responded before he put his earbuds back in. Ms. Demenchi had started passing out the syllabus while going over her policies. Nico had already gotten the spill when he passed the test and so he didn’t pay attention much.

“Nico’s a cool name. Is it short for something?” Jason asked, still staring at him. Nico internally groaned and rolled his eyes. Apparently the guy didn’t get the hint that Nico didn’t want to talk to him. All Nico wanted to do was cool experiments and get through freshman year in one piece. The teacher shut off the projector and walked to the front of the room, getting Nico’s attention enough for him to take out his earbuds.

“As you know, chemistry is all about elements and chemicals and figuring out how and why things happen. Often times, I will discuss what chemicals we will be using in the next lab and ask for you to look them up and write about it. This leads to a lot of research and essays be expected, along with the major project that is assigned every nine weeks.” Ms. Demenchi stated, earning some groans and scared looks throughout the class. Nico heard Jason groan and put his head on the desk in frustration. Nico snickered at everyone’s dismayed. Bianca had told him about Ms. Demenchi and her obsession with research papers when she had her for sophomore year. The last year she attended public school before being accepted into that all-girls academy. It had been 3 years since then and Nico only saw her twice a year. Not that he wanted to think about that now. “However, I am going to try something new this year to take off the stress that comes with my assignments.” She finished, sending a rather dangerous smile to Nico.

“What is this crazy lady about to pull?” Nico mumbled under his breath, earning a snort from Jason. He turned to the blonde, surprised that he heard him, but Jason kept looking forward. The only sign that Nico hadn’t imagined the sound was the amused smile on Jason’s face. Nico shook his head and turned back to Ms. Demenchi. She still had that suspicious smile on her face.

“You will are be partnered with someone for the rest of the year. There will be no trading partners or asking to work alone. Every essay, summary, and research paper that I ask for will be a shared grade. They will also be your partner for all of the four projects.” Ms. Demenchi continued. That was when Nico verbally groaned. Why did she decide to do this when he had her? He was perfectly fine with doing all the assignments on his own. Someone in the front raised their hand. “Yes Ms. Chase?”

Nico sank down in his chair at the familiar blond at the front of the room. Annabeth Chase, voted most likely to succeed, basically a genius, one of the most popular girls in school, and Percy’s girlfriend. She was really nice to Nico, mostly from feeling guilty about inadvertently introducing Bianca to Artemis Academy for Exceptional Young Women and basically help send one of the only people to actually care about Nico across the country to New Mexico. Nico didn’t really blame her anymore, but he could tell that she still thought he held it against her. In reality, Nico didn’t mind talking to her since she could hold an actual conversation and had her own opinions instead of mainstream throw up. But Nico didn’t interact with her much because wherever she went Percy went and Nico avoided the green eyed boy like the plague, even if it meant losing opportunity to talk to a rather interesting person.

“Ms. Demenchi, will we be able to choose our partners or will they be assigned?” Annabeth asked, looking to her left where Percy sat. Nico couldn’t tell if she wanted to be partnered with him or not. Ms. Demenchi chuckled slightly.

“You have already picked your partner, Ms. Chase. You just didn’t realize you did.” She answered, waiting for someone to get it. Nico gave her a confused look. What did that mean? The only thing they had chosen so far was their-

“Shit.” Nico muttered, leaning forward and putting his head in his hands. Jason looked at him with worry.

“What?” the blonde asked, putting his hand on Nico’s shoulder. Nico tensed and quickly moved the hand away from him, feeling anger start to seep into his core. He can’t get into a fight already. Eliana would kill him.

“Don’t touch me. I don’t like being touched.” Nico hissed, trying not to bring attention to himself while still getting his point across. Jason’s eyes widened but he nodded.

“Sorry, I didn’t think to ask. Can you tell me why you seem like you’re about to punch the desk though? I feel like you figured out what Ms. Demenchi is talking about.” Jason asked again, moving over slightly to give Nico more room. Nico sighed and rested his head on only one of his hands.

“The only thing we’ve chosen is our seats. Each table has only two seats. There is an even number of students in this class. You do the math, Grace.” Nico explained, waiting for Ms. Demenchi to prove his theory.

“Mr. di Angelo is correct, though I would appreciate if he would share with the class and not just Mr. Grace.” Ms. Demenchi called out, causing the room to fill with laughter. Nico felt his face flush and he sank even lower in his chair. Attention was not what he wanted. “You’re partnered with the person sitting at your table. Your first assignment starts today. By Friday of this week, I want you to go to each other’s homes, meet your partner’s family, join them for dinner, and then ask them these questions on this sheet of paper. I will also want a guardian’s signature on it. Not yours, theirs. And don’t try and weasel out of the meeting and just fill out the form and fake a signature. I will be calling your parents to confirm that they did in fact meet your partner.” She explained, handing out the survey to everyone. Nico groaned while everyone else let out a sigh of relief at the fact that they wouldn’t be bringing a complete stranger home. Lucky Nico that he was the exception. Jason turned to Nico and gave a small smile.

“So my house or yours first? Forewarning, my stepmother acts like a 1950’s housewife and will make dinner one of the most awkwardest meal ever if I don’t give her any time to prepare.” Jason asked, rubbing the back of his next. Nico sighed and rubbed his temples. Eliana was going to kill him for this.

“You can come to my place. Let me just text Eliana and tell her to make something for four people.” Nico answered, looking down at the sheet and grimacing. He was not looking forward to interrogation time. (Yes, he might be over-exaggerating things, but seriously? He is about to bring a random guy to his house and feed him for a school assignment. He had every right to be a drama queen at the moment.) Jason nodded his head as the bell rang. Nico quickly gathered up his stuff and started to head to the door.

“Wait Nico!” He heard Jason yell before he reached the door. Nico stopped and turned around, urging Jason to go on so he could go to his next class. “Where do you want to meet up after school? Or do you want to give me your address?”

Nico thought for a moment. “Meet me at the front of the school under the flagpole. My apartment isn’t far from the school, so I usually walk home.” With that, Nico rushed out of the classroom like a bat out of hell.

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

Nico regretted every decision he had made in the last 24 hours the moment him and Jason walked into his apartment. For one, the whole walk was awkward as the kept on walking into one of the richer neighborhoods of Manhattan. Almost as awkward as the shop owners waving at Nico and asking him about his day, to which he gave them a rather quick response and hurried on before Jason could ask questions. But the 5 seconds it took for him to open the door and call out that he was home was the 5 seconds that he realized he made a terrible mistake.

“di Angelo! Your back!” The enthusiastic answer came as Eliana slid into view and walking towards them with a smile on her face. She stopped when she Jason and suddenly she put on a poker face. “So this is the boy you were telling me about.”

“Hello, I’m Jason Grace, Nico’s partner.” Jason introduced, holding his hand out. Eliana stared at him and proceeded to circle Jason like a vulture.

“Strong cheekbones, muscular, great eyes, looks healthy.” Eliana murmured under her breath. Jason stayed as still as possible, shooting Nico confused ‘help me’ looks, but Nico was as lost as anyone else in this case. Eliana stopped and clapped her hands. “I fully approve of this partner. You have my permission to have coatis. Please do not engage in any unsavory activities on the couch or counter unless you plan on sanitizing in or buying me a new one. Remember to wear protection and always prep. I am going to pick Hazel up and get some ice cream. Please be dressed and clean when I get back. Hazel is still a young and impressible girl and I don’t want to scar her at this early of an age.”

Both boys’ jaws dropped as she finished. Jason soon began stuttering out excuses or explanations, Nico couldn’t really tell. Nico however, saw the mischievous glint in his guardian’s eyes. “ _Eliana_.” Nico hissed, causing said girl to burst into a fit of laughter.

“I’m sorry Nico, but your face was priceless. And quarterback over here was about to have an aneurism! The opportunity was there and I had to take it.” Eliana explained between laughs. After a minutes, she held out her hand to Jason. “I’m Eliana, Nico’s guardian and adopted sister. It’s nice to meet you, Jason.”

Jason shook her hand wearily. “Nice to meet you too. I didn’t know Nico had a sister.”

“She’s not my sister.” Nico stated. Eliana ignored him and grinned.

“He has three.” They stood there for a minute and glared at the differing answers before Eliana laughed and ruffled his hair. “You are my little brother, whether you think so or not. Mr. Hades treats me like a daughter anyway, so your argument is invalid.”

“Dad treats you like that because you saved his ass in a lot of business negotiations and then volunteered to take care of his two mistakes so Persephone doesn’t get mad at him.” Nico pushed her hand away and walked farther into the apartment, motioning for Jason to follow him. Eliana shook her head and grabbed her keys and purse.

“I really am going to pick up Hazel and take out for some celebratory ‘you survived the first day of a new school” ice cream. And I do need to pick up some last minute ingredients for the antipasto pasta salad. We should be back in 30 minutes or so. Food is in the fridge like always. Do you need anything from the store?” Eliana asked, opening the door.

“A guardian that is sane and doesn’t act like a complete bitch when guests are over.” Nico called over his shoulder, heading straight towards the fridge. Jason’s eyes widened and he sucked in a gasp, waiting for the fighting to start like it did when Thalia made a smartass comment to Hera. Instead, Eliana laughed at Nico’s comment, leaving Jason confused.

“I’ll see if they have any in stock this week but don’t get your hopes up. See you!” The door slammed shut. Jason turned to Nico to see that the smaller boy had completely disappeared behind the open fridge door.

“Your guardian sure is something. I can’t believe she laughed at you calling her a bitch.” Jason commented. Nico glanced up from the fridge for a second before he continued to rummage through it.

“You can call her my sister or Eliana if you want. She doesn’t care and frankly, if you call her my sister in front of her, she’ll be extremely happy. She’s pretty easy going, but I think it because she is only 21 so she still remembers what it is like to be in high school.” He stepped out of the fridge to set a bag of pizza rolls and a coke can on the counter, and the reached back into the fridge to grab a coke for Jason, letting the door swing shut on its own. “I hope you like coke because that’s all we have other than Smith’s root beer and Hazel’s orange juice and they are both crazy about their drinks.” Nico stated, dumping the pizza rolls on a plate and popping it in the microwave. Jason was confused by the sudden change in name when Nico was talking about Eliana, but didn’t comment on it.

Jason shrugged. “I’m more of a Pepsi guy, but I’ll drink coke.” Nico stopped dead in his tracks and turned towards Jason with a look of dismay.

“Leave now. I can’t have a Pepsi drinker in my apartment. Leave sticky notes on everything that you touched so that I can disinfect it later.” Nico commanded, looking completely serious. Jason raised his hands in surrender.

“Dude, I don’t really care about the brand. My family just drinks Pepsi. They both taste the same-”

“They do not taste the same! Do not say that blasphemy. How do you have such bad taste in drinks? You’re worse than Valdez! At least he likes coke.” Nico interrupted, getting ready for a long rant. Jason raised an eyebrow.

“You know Leo?” Nico shrugged.

“Eliana went over to his dad’s shop a lot when I was younger and I had to tag along, so I got stuck with him while they talked business. Why?”

Jason smiled. “Leo is my best friend. When he found out that I drank Pepsi, he would throw empty coke cans at my head to see if he could knock some sense into me.” He explained. Nico scoffed and took out the pizza rolls when the annoying beeping of the microwave began.

“Sounds like the idiot.”

Silence filled the air for a minute as Nico moved the pizza rolls around to try and cool them down faster.

“So, am I allowed to stay in the apartment?”

“…only because Eliana would yell at me if she cooked dinner for nothing.”

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

By the times the girls got back, Jason and Nico were halfway done with the survey and sitting on opposite sides of the living room with Nico in an awkward position on the loveseat and Jason sitting like a soldier on the couch. Nico looked up at the sound of the door opening and closing.

“Did you get everything for dinner?”

A short African American girl walked into the room with two grocery bags in her hands and an enormous backpack on her back. “We got the rest of it for the pasta salad and even got your favorite ice cream since it was on sale.” She said with a smile on her face. Jason turned and was about to wave before he recognized who it was.

“Hazel?”

“Jason?”

Nico groaned. “You two know each other?”

“He was the assistant senior counselor at that camp I went to this summer. Remember, the one Reyna was talking about?” Hazel answered, looking between Nico and Jason frantically. Nico nodded in understanding.

“I didn’t know Hazel was your sister.”

“We only said her name a bunch of times before I left, but you know, there wasn’t any way for you to guess that.” Eliana sarcastically remarked as she walked in the room and grabbed the bags, heading towards the kitchen. Jason’s cheeks turned red in seconds.

“Is Hazel not a common name?” Jason asked.

“No.” All three of them responded simultaneous. Hazel giggled and walked over to Nico to give him a kiss on the cheek before walking towards the hallway, most likely to put away her bag.

“So what have you boys been doing since I’ve been gone? Dinner will be ready in about an hour and a half, by the way.” Eliana asked, her voice carrying from the kitchen, which was only separated from the living room by a counter.

“Answering this annoying questionnaire about each other.” Nico replied, shifting positions for the 4th time in the past 30 minutes. Jason couldn’t understand how the kid could move that much and not find a comfortable spot yet. Eliana scoffed.

“Stupidest question so far?”

“I think we said ‘who do you know, other than a teacher, who has gone to college?’ one was the most unnecessary one.” Jason replied. Eliana laughed.

“Man, I’m so glad that I took my last two years of high school and my bachelor’s degree online while working. Best decision of my life. I don’t have to answer those stupid questionnaires ever again.” She replied, throwing something into a giant pot on the oven. “How was your first day back, di Angelo?”

“Boring as ever, Smith. I told you that this day was just a blow off day where we got the supplies list and went over the same procedures since 5th grade.” Nico immediately replied before looking down at his paper. “Sports?”

“Football and track.” Jason immediately responded, earning a laugh from Eliana and an eye roll from Nico. “What?”

“Typical stereotypical blonde hair, blue eyed football star that does track in the off season. You just checked off every teen movie box. Let me guess, quarterback?” Nico stated, pointing his pencil at Jason. Jason faked a hurt expression.

“Actually, running back. I am deeply wounded by your stereotype. How would you feel if someone did that to you?” Jason asked. Nico suddenly found the wooden table extremely interesting.

“I’m not in any sports.”

“Can we count mythomagic as a sport?” Eliana yelled from the kitchen. Nico’s face flushed cherry red as Hazel entered the room again, dressed in sweat pants and a purple t shirt.

“WE DO NOT TALK ABOUT THAT!” Nico shouted back. Hazel gave her brother a confused look.

“We don’t talk about what?”

“Something called ‘mythomagic’. Is that a game or something?” Jason replied. Hazel’s eyes lit up at the mention of the game.

“Oh Nico, Frank is coming over Wednesday to rematch me. Can you teach me some more plays before then?” She asked, sitting on the other side of the couch. Nico sighed.

“Hazel, Frank is a beginner at best and you already know enough moves to beat him no matter what he plays. He is just coming over to ‘rematch’ you because he likes you and is afraid to ask you out like a normal person because he is scared you’ll reject him and terrified of me.” Nico stated. Hazel blushed bright red and Jason cocked his head to the side.

“Frank Zhang? The sophomore? On the football team right?” Jason asked. Nico nodded while Hazel buried her head in her hands.

“He d-doesn’t like me like that! We’re just friends!” Hazel mumbled through her hands. Eliana looked over the counter.

“Frank is a sophomore? You are dating a guy that is 3 years older than you? Man, that’s awkward. Does Hades approve of this?” Eliana asked, causing Hazel to hide her face even further.

“We are not dating! And don’t you dare tell father!” Eliana chuckled and went back into the kitchen.

“Whatever you say, Gem. Pasta’s cooked! Come pet your bowls together so I can put them in the fridge and we can eat before 6:00. Its Nico’s turn to go to the studio with me, so we’ll drop Jason off on the way.” She called, making the two siblings get up and head over to the kitchen. Jason followed them, sure what else to do.

“What are we doing?”

He asked, confused by the number of bowls filled with different ingredients on the table and I giant colander of pasta shells. Eliana rested her elbows on the counter.

“Well, Nico likes antipasto pasta salad with all of the original things on it but Hazel is super picky with the ingredients and I hate olives, which is one of the only things that the two of them both like, so we just decided to make our own bowls of the stuff, refrigerate them, and then eat it already pre served. It was the best way for me to give Nico some homemade Italian without making me and Hazel something else to eat. Just put whatever you want in the bowl and it will be ready in an hour.” Eliana explained, gesturing to the variety of bowls filled with different ingredients. Hazel was picking through the bowls, sprinkling a few things in her bowl while Nico just grabbed handfuls of everything and plopped it in the bowl, mixing in some dry dressing mix and covering it with foil. Hazel did the same thing and they left the kitchen, leaving Eliana and Jason alone. Eliana started putting together her bowl.

“Can I ask you a question?” Jason asked, grabbing the last bowl.

“You just did sweetie, but you can ask another, as long as I can ask one of my own.” Eliana replied.

“How are Nico and Hazel related? They don’t look alike at all, but you can see that they are really close.” Jason knew he couldn’t ask Nico, since the kid would barely give him enough information to fill out the sheet. Eliana looked into the living room and sighed.

“Finish your bowl and we can talk in the study.”

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

Eliana plopped down in the chair behind the desk as Jason closed the door. “You can take a seat Jason. This won’t take long. Save all questions for the end please.”

“Why are we in the study? Won’t Nico and Hazel got suspicious?” Jason asked as he sat down. Eliana opened up the laptop on the desk and started it up.

“I told Nico that I was going to let you pick the song list for tonight since you’re the guest.” She stated. At his silence, she continues. “I am a night time radio host for a radio station a couple blocks away. It gives me a little extra money so that I can do spontaneous things without eating ramen noodles for a week.”

Jason nodded in understanding. “So how are they related?”

Eliana sighed again. “Nico doesn’t like me telling people about his past. He is really closed off, but seeing that you are going to be around here a lot, you might want some heads up. Long story short: Mr. Hades, their father, wasn’t very loyal 17 years ago. He has this thing for beautiful, strong, ethnic women that didn’t take no for an answer. He married a Greek heiress when she was 18 and he was 24. The marriage was kind of forced and the woman was barren, a big problem for Hades since that a family was one of his dreams. On a trip to Italy, he meets Maria di Angelo, a daughter of an Italian diplomat that returned to her mother country as soon as she could. They fell in love and an 8 year affair began. Persephone didn’t know a thing. After 8 years, Maria finally convinces Hades to leave his wife and have be with her and their two children, Bianca and Nico.”

“So, where is Nico’s mom? And when does Hazel come into play?” Jason asked. Eliana raised her hand to stop him.

“Hades went on a plane ride with the two kids. Maria had some business to take care of so she got on a late flight. Her plane hit a thunderstorm and basically got blasted out of the sky. Nico was 5 when it happened. So, when Hades shows up to his house with two kids in tow and tears in his eyes, telling her about his dead mistress and their children, Persephone flips out. Screaming, things being thrown, full nine yards. She makes him cut off any other affairs. Hades begs her to at least let the children stay with them since they have nowhere else to go. That lasts for a year before Persephone breaks down, saying that they look too much like their mother for her to live with them. So Hades gets one of best workers, Alecto, to take them to Las Vegas and watch them. 6 years pass and they move to New York, with Alecto living a block down from them and Bianca raising Nico and herself.

“Bianca becomes friends with a couple of kids a year older than Nico that he hangs out with and they tell her about this amazing school in New Mexico for girls. Bianca had been raising her brother by herself for over two years now and she is at her wits end, seeing that she is still a child herself, so she decides to apply to the school. Nico begs and pleads for her not to, but she is adamant about it. She gets accepted. The last thing she needs is her parent’s signature and for them to attend a meeting about the school. So Nico begs his father instead, his last hope in keeping the person that has been with him from the beginning, to say no. Hades signs the paper. Bianca moves the next school year. Needless to say, Nico is a wreck.” Eliana pauses, looking at her computer with determination before typing. Jason just sits there silence. He had a hunch that something terrible had happened to Nico. After Chemistry class, Jason had asked around and everyone had told him that Nico was a closed off kid that didn’t talk much and scared a lot of people for some reason. But with everything that Eliana had told him so far, it made a lot of sense.

“So what happened next?” Eliana looked up and ran a hand through her hair.

“I came into the picture. I had been working as a negotiator for Hades’s company for a year now and he came up to me and asked if I would become his son’s guardian and move up to New York to live with him. I said yes in a heartbeat. Less stress and I didn’t have to wear business suits every day, while watching over a teenager. It seemed like a good deal. So I moved here a week after Bianca had left. The school year passes and one day we get a knock at the door. I go and answer it to find Alecto and a little girl, saying that this is another child of Hades and her mother was just put into an insane asylum down in Louisiana and so now she was my responsibility. Nico took one look at her and decided that he would protect her at all costs and give her whatever she wanted. That’s how we got Hazel in our little family. Bianca visits about once or twice a year, but not enough to make up for her leaving and Hades keeps his distance, knowing that he isn’t exactly in Nico or Hazel’s good graces. I keep him up to date on their stuff and he sends us checks and gifts every so often, even tries to come up for their competitions, but it doesn’t happen often. And now were here. The end.” Eliana gave him a searching look. “Now can I ask my own questions?”

Jason felt a chill go down his spine. Up until now, he would have never guessed that Eliana was in the business world, making deals with the sharks, but with the gleam in her eyes, he was starting to see how she got through it. “Sure?”

“Are you the son of Zeus Rodor, CEO of Rodor Airlines, and heir to the company?” She asked point blank.

“How did you know?”

“I’ve done business with your father before. You might not have the same hair color, but those eyes are exactly the same.” She got up, taking her laptop with her and headed towards the door. “Do me a favor. When Nico goes to your house for dinner, don’t mention his last name or his father’s name. That would save me a lot of trouble and save you an argument.” With that, she opened the door and walked out of the study, yelling something about changing the TV station to something good.

.   .    .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

Jason was scared to bring Nico over to his house. He was normally nervous to bring anyone over to his house, but Nico with his black clothes, hair that looks like it hasn’t been cut in months, earbuds in all the time, and I-don’t-give-to-shits attitude made Jason terrified to show his stepmother. And Nico became aware of this fact almost immediately. The walk through the Upper East Side was filled with Jason giving Nico tips on how to deal with his stepmother and Nico just rolling his eyes.

“Oh, and remember to take your shoes off at the door and put them on the right side of the door. And your backpack can be hung up on the bag rack.”

“Jason, you’ve told me this 3 times now. Is your stepmother really this OCD?”

Jason sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yes. She is all about the ‘perfect family’ image. I’m pretty sure she has been cooking all afternoon. Be sure to eat all that is on your plate. She gets really upset if you don’t and then she just becomes more passive aggressive.”

Nico muttered something under his breath. “I can’t believe this is an assignment for school. Ms. Demenchi is crazy. I feel like I’m going to meet the Queen of England or something. Don’t do this, don’t do that, can I breathe or is there something specific I have to do about that to?”

“Don’t breathe too loud. It gets on her nerves.”

“Are you serious?”

Jason laughed nervously. ‘I wish I wasn’t. Just be thankful my sister isn’t here. She gets on mom’s nerves on purpose and it often ends in a screaming match before my father steps in and breaks it up. Here we are.” They stood in front of The Mark Hotel, causing Nico to give Jason an impressed look.

“You live in The Mark?”

Jason gave him a nervous smile. “Entire 16th floor. Don’t make a big deal about it.”

Nico shrugged in response. “I won’t. Just thought you would want to know that Eliana almost purchased the 16th floor for us before I told her that I was perfectly fine with living where we do. She met with the couple owning it and often came back home ranting about the impossible wife. I suppose I shouldn’t say Eliana’s name?”

“So she was the girl who caused Hera to go insane for a week before dropping it. That was one of the worst weeks of my life.” Jason commented, walking towards the private elevator as they made their way through the lobby. Nico smirked.

“She does have a special talent for making people insane. When is dinner going to be ready?” Nico asked as they entered the elevator, the attendant pressing the button and nodding to Jason.

“5:30 sharp. Dessert will be served at 6:15. Why?” The attendant was doing a great job of ignoring them, but Jason saw Nico tensing up at the thought of talking about something with someone else in the room. “You know, we have this really cool observatory-library up on the roof. No one really goes up there anymore but you get a great view of Central Park. We should go up there.”

Before Nico could reply, the elevator dinged and Jason dragged him out, closing the door and taking off his shoes. Nico copied Jason, remembering all of the things the blonde had told him before. As Nico hung up his messenger bag on the rack, a woman came into view. She had brown hair with a few silver streaks in a perfect bun, brown eyes, and was wearing jeans and a white shirt underneath a gold apron that had the words ‘Mother Knows Best’ stitched in it. She seemed like an everyday housewife, but Nico saw a cold glint in her eyes.

“Jason! How was school today? I thought you had practice this afternoon.” She asked happily before turning towards Nico, eyes narrowing. “Is this the boy you were telling me about? Your chemistry partner?”

“Hey mom. School was good. Couch cancelled practice, saying something about giving us a day off before the big game.” Jason replied, his tone respectful but disconnected. “This is Nico. He will be joining us for dinner, remember?”

The woman nodded, keeping a tight smile on her face. “It is nice to meet you Nico. I am Hera Rodor, Jason stepmother. Dinner will be ready at 5:30. Would you two like a snack?” she asked.

“No thanks. I was planning on showing Nico the observatory and the library. We’ll be up there if you need anything.” Jason answered, grabbing Nico’s arm and dragging him towards the staircase.

“You two have fun! Don’t get into any trouble ok!” Hera called after them as Jason climbed the stairs two at a time.

“Ok!” Nico was pretty sure that Jason was going to end up dislocating his shoulder before they reached the observatory, with the amount of force he was pulling the Italian behind him. Jason quickly unlatched the doors and plopped down on the sofa, bringing Nico down with him. Nico pulled his arm out of the blonde’s grip and stood up, a scowl on his face.

“You almost pulled my arm off in attempt to avoid you stepmother.”

“Sorry.” Jason has the decency to look embarrassed but not for long. “So why were you asking about dinner?”

Nico looked out the window to see that he was overlooking 5th avenue. “Eliana wants me back home before 7 so she and Hazel can leave on time and she can give me the daily spill over safety and what to do if someone breaks in.” Jason raised an eyebrow.

“Go out the window on the fire escape?” Nico snorted.

“No, she hides handguns all throughout the apartment, along with swords and knifes. She’s trained me and Hazel in enough self-defense and martial arts to take on someone twice or size and win.”

“…That is utterly terrifying and I think illegal. Are you coming to the football game tomorrow?” Jason asked, changing the subject randomly. The fact that there were weapons hidden in Nico’s apartment made him even more wary of Eliana.

Nico shrugged. “Probably not. They’re not really my thing, with the large crowds of people, terrible food, and deafening noise that never stops.” He had walked over to one of the bookshelves and started looking through the books. “Does anyone ever read these?” “Not really. I’m the only one that comes up here anymore and most of the time, I’m on the terrace.” Jason answered, looking out the window. “What about Hazel? Is she going to come to them to see Frank play?”

“…Shit.”

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

Nico was sure that this dinner had to be one of the most awkwardest ones that he has ever been to, and that was counting the first dinner with him and Persephone. Jason wasn’t kidding when he was talking about his stepmom’s OCD. From the moment that they walked back down at 5:25, Nico felt like he was being punked or something. Hera had set up the dining room to look like the President was joining them, with fine china and a fresh white table cloth on the table. The center of the table was had several bowls and contained more food than what was served at banquets. Hera was still wearing her apron, though it looked like she changed into an actual 1950’s styled dress, filling up each of the plates. When she heard them enter the room, she turned around and flashed them a smile.

“Oh good, you boys are down already. I was just serving getting the plates ready. My husband won’t be joining us today since he has to work late at the office. I hope you two are hungry.” She told them cheerily. Jason took a seat at the right of the head of the table and motioned Nico to sit across from him. Nico slid into the chair and looked down at his plate in curiosity. It looked really good, whatever it was, but it had a certain smell that Nico was too familiar with. Hera sat down at the head of the table. “Ok, time to say prayer. Join hands you two.”

“Um I’m actually atheist. My whole family is in fact.” Nico responded, putting his hands in his lap. Jason’s eyes widened and he felt the temperature in the room drop 20 degrees. Hera’s smile tightened to the point that Nico thought her face was going to crack in half.

“Oh. Well dear, I’m sure that your family is comfortable in not thanking our creator for the food that he help provide you but in this house, we pray. So if you will please join hands.” She stated, motioning. Jason groaned and lowered his head.

“Mom, you can’t just-“

“Hush Jason. We need to pray.”

Nico looked down at his plate and poked it. “Does this have cinnamon by any chance?”

Hera beamed at this. “Why yes it does. It is my special ingre-“

“I’m severely allergic to cinnamon. It is actually dangerous for me to be near it at all.” Nico deadpanned, scooting out of the chair. Jason shot up from his chair, making Hera glare at both of them.

“You’re allergic to cinnamon? Why didn’t you tell me before now?” Jason asked, clearly worried. Nico raised an eyebrow.

“We’ve known each other for 4 days, it never came up in conversation, and I didn’t think people put cinnamon in actual food.” He stated, pushing in his chair. Her had stopped smiling and looked like she was about to have a conniption. “It looks like a lovely dinner, but I don’t have a death wish. Besides, my sister texted me and asked me to come home since she is about to go to work.” Hera smiled.

“Well, how about we go to the library to chat for a bit. Your assignment was to meet the family and let them get to know you. I supposed I can store the food a bit longer while we talk. Your sister isn’t expecting you right away, is she?”

Nico shifted uncomfortably. “Well no, but-“

“Wonderful! You two head in there while I put up the food, ok? Ok.” She said, clapping her hands once before picking up the plates and headed to the kitchen. Jason got up slowly and walked out of the dining room, forcing Nico to follow him.

“This is bad. Library usually means serious talk or lecture. Why couldn’t dad be home? He would have just said goodbye and not let her go through this.” Jason muttered under his breath, making Nico slightly nervous about the ‘chat’. He didn’t really like talking to adults for extended periods of time and be expected to be polite. He didn’t see the point in pretending to be nice just because they were older and thought that he knew nothing. They entered the main library and sat down on the couch, which was a lot harder than the one on the roof. Must not be used a lot. Hera walked in seconds later and sat on the giant gold chair behind the desk, looking at Nico expectantly.

“So Nico, you mentioned that your sister was heading to work. What does she do for a living?”

“She is a radio host for the evening timeslot.” He replied quickly, hoping to get this done soon. Hera gave him a smile.

“Oh, I suppose that is a good job if you didn’t graduate college. She must enjoy it a lot.” She commented, keeping the smile on her face. Nico stiffened and narrowed his eyes.

“She graduated the top of her class abroad. Her actual job is a negotiator for a world class company. DJing is just a hobby really.”

The smile still stayed on Hera’s face. “Who do you live with, sweetheart?” She asked, ignoring his statement.

“My two sisters.”

Hera raised an eyebrow at this. “And where are your parents?”

“Dead and in L.A. What other personal questions would you like to ask before you let me leave?” Nico deadpanned. He looked over to Jason, who was focusing on the floor like it was the most important thing in the world.

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

Jason’s head shot up at that question and looked over at Nico to see that he was stiff as a board. “Mom, that isn’t appropriate to ask someone you just met.” He hissed. Nico stood up.

“No I do not, and I have to go. I did not have a good time. Goodbye.” Nico stated, walking straight to the door. Jason jumped up and went to follow him.

“Jason Grace, sit down now. I am sure your friend can walk himself out.” Hera commanded, ice in her voice. Jason stopped in his tracks. Nico looked back at him and waved goodbye. The door slammed shut, but Jason could still hear him shuffle through the hallway, trying to put on his shoes and grab his stuff. Jason turned around to face Hera. The smile had disappeared and been replaced with a serious look. “I do not like that boy. I don’t want you to get close to him. If I could do anything about him being your chemistry partner, but I do not want you hanging around him. He is a bad influence. Am I understood?”

Jason gritted his teeth and felt the lie coming up. Thalia was right. “Yes ma’am. I won’t get near him.”

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

Ms. Demenchi wasn’t kidding when she was talking about how much homework she gave them. In the past 3 weeks, Jason had been going over to the di Angelo-Smith-Levesque household after football practice almost every single day, even on the weekends. He would get there by 5 and wouldn’t leave until 8 when Eliana had to go to work and made him leave. The past three weeks were hell with the work, but some of the most entertaining weeks of his life, thanks to the dysfunctional family’s quirks and ability to get into trouble easily. Most days, he was walking into a big mess that was created by Eliana or Nico, with Hazel standing in the background, a phone in her hand with 911 already dialled. Today wasn’t any different.

As Jason walked to the door of Nico’s house, he heard the familiar shouts of Eliana, although it sounded like she was speaking a different language. Then he realized that Nico was also yelling in what seemed like the same language.

“Ottenere quella cosa fuori da casa mia, o così mi aiuti, Nicolo!”(Get that thing out of my house or so help me, Nicolo!) Eliana yelled. Jason knocked on the door softly, hoping that Hazel would open it and he wouldn’t have to wait 10 minutes outside the door for one of them to calm down.

“Perché ? Fa sentire a disagio ? Sei così paura di un po 'di bordo?”(Why? Makes you uncomfortable? Scared of a little board?) Nico replied calmly.

“Yes it makes me fucking uncomfortable, you little shit! Now get that godforsaken thing out of my house before I burn it with your Mythomagic collection!” Jason raised an eyebrow at Eliana’s threat as the door slowly opened to reveal Hazel.

“Hey Jason. Are you sure you want to come in right now? 20 minutes makes a big difference in this family.” She asked, keeping the door closed for the most part. Jason shrugged.

“Might as well come in now and get the story then wait 20 minutes and neither of them tell me what happened.” He replied. SH sighed and opened the door.

“Fine, your funeral. I’m going to go to Frank’s house. He wanted a rematch on the last game we played and I don’t think my house is in any shape to handle a mythomagic battle. I’ll be back to help cook dinner. Bye.” She stated, opening the door and heading towards the stairs. Jason stood there for a minute before walking in. Eliana and Nico were standing on opposite sides of the living room, Eliana with a lighter in her hand, and Nico with some type of board in his.

“Hey guys, what’s going on?” He asked, putting his bag on the floor. The both turned towards him.

“She is threatening to burn down my childhood!”

“He brought a demon summoning tool in my house!”

They both yelled at the same time. Jason wasn’t sure which one to be more concerned about. “Ummm…what?”

They both ignored him. “It is not a demon summoning tool. It is a way to communicate with the dead.” Nico stated, taking a step closer to her. She grabbed a stack of cards on the couch and flicked the lighter open.

“Don’t you bring that thing any closer to me. It summons terrible ghosts that are demons and haunts its owner for the rest of their lives, making everyday a living hell. I don’t care if you raise the dead, but I forbid you to use that thing. Go be a good boy a draw a pentagram on the roof or something. No creepy demon boards or I’m burning the cards.” She replied. Nico narrowed his eyes.

“So you don’t care if I practice necromancy or practice dark magic as long as I don’t use an Ouija board, but you refuse to let me walk outside without a jacket?”

“ _You’re going to catch a cold and then I’m going to have to put up with your whiny ass!_ ”

“Where did you get an Ouija board in the first place?” Jason asked. Nico shrugged.

“My father sent it to me today.”

“That man has a sick sense of humor.” Eliana muttered, putting down the cards. “Seriously though, go out on the fire escape and burn the board, and then put the ashes in 5 baggies. I’ll go to the airport later on and give them to people heading to different places, saying that it’s a good luck charm. Or an undetectable form of cocaine. Whichever.”

Nico sighed. “Fine, throw me the lighter.” She tossed it to him and he walked over to the window. “Are you coming Jason?”

Jason hesitated. “No, I think I’m going to stay inside. Might as well get started on the assignment. You know, the report on the history of the System International?”

Nico nodded and climbed out the window. Jason stared at it for a moment. “Dude, if you wanted to go with him, you should have gone. I’m sure that the stupid report of the history on how the world said ‘we might want to know what we’re all talking about’ can wait.” Eliana commented, flopping down on the couch. Jason sat down on the arm of the couch.

“No I’m fine. What language were you guys arguing in?” Jason asked. Eliana looked over and shrugged.

“We were speaking in Italian. It was Nico’s first language and he is fluent in it. He slips into it a lot when he is angry with me or his older sister.” Eliana explained. Jason raised an eyebrow, making her continue. “I moved to Italy when I was 16 to live with relatives. I had to learn the language to get through the rest of high school and college. That is how Hades found me actually. He was visiting Italy on a business trip and walked into the café that I was working at during an important business call. I had helped my friend get his business to one of the top of the business world in 2 short years, so I knew most of the business lingo and how to make a deal. I overheard the deal that he was about to make, sat down at his table, and started coaching him through the deal. By the end of it, he had managed to get 3 million dollars from it and I got a job as a negotiator for the company.”

“Wow, brooding teenage boy that speaks Italian. You are going to have a lot of girls to bat off when he gets older.” Jason commented, causing Eliana to stifle a laugh.

“Believe me, I don’t have to worry about girls in this household. Well, unless Hazel is hiding something.” Eliana replied. She was silent for a moment before jumping up. “Hazel snuck off, didn’t she? Great, now I have to go track her down. I’ll be right back, hopefully with my bayou child in tow. Lord, I am going to kill her and Frank.”

Before Jason could ask what she meant by her comment, she was already out the door. “Sometimes, I wish that Smith would just shut her big trap and not tell everybody everything there is about me.”

Jason jumped at the sound of Nico’s voice and turned around to see the younger boy standing by the window. “N-Nico. When did you get here?”

“I had to grab the bags to put the ashes in and I overheard Smith talking about me to you.” Nico said seriously, walking to the kitchen to get the zip lock bags. Jason could almost see the waves of anger coming off of him.

“Are you gay?” Jason blurted out. He blushed and hid his face in his hands. Reyna had always told him that he lacked tact most days and blurted out the worst questions to ask people.

“Why do you care?” Nico barked at him, rummaging through the cabinets.

“I don’t! It really doesn’t matter to me if you like guys or girls really. And I don’t have a problem with it! You know, because I understand where you’re coming from. I’m bi actually and I-“

Nico turned around and lifted his eyebrow. “You’re bi?” Jason froze. That wasn’t meant to slip out.

“Um, yeah. I mean, I’m still in the closet about it. Well, Reyna knows, and so does Piper. And now you. So maybe, half in the closet, half out.” Jason rambled, waiting for Nico to stop him. Silence fell over them as Nico looked down at the counter.

“I have to talk to Reyna tomorrow.” Nico mumbled. “We should get started on this paper. Let me clean up the board and you can get started.” With that, Nico climbed out the window again, leaving Jason a little confused of what happened.

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

Jason was pretty sure that he was slowly becoming obsessed with Nico as time wore on. They had been chem partners for almost a whole 9 weeks before Jason started realizing how many times he caught himself staring at Nico and think about how cute he was. And it was the most subtle things that got Jason embarrassed, like when he made Nico laugh so hard, he fell off the couch. Jason thought he was going to stay that shade of red for days. Or he would catch himself staring at Nico’s eyelashes and wondering how they could be that long.

Either way, it was becoming an issue. Jason was terrible when it came to crushes and he knew that Nico would start to notice it if he didn’t do something soon. So he did the logical thing and asked for help. Of course, his friends weren’t much help. Reyna had looked at him, shrugged her shoulders, and told him to follow his gut and if he hurt Nico, she would kill him. Piper just wiggled her eyebrows and said things would work out. And all Leo had said was ‘My new OTP. I so ship it’, which left Jason more confused leaving then he was when he got there. Sighing, he continued his walk to Nico’s house.

“Hey Jason! Wait up!” a voice called from behind. Jason turned around to see that Percy was running through the crowd.

“Hey Percy, I didn’t think you walked this way. Doesn’t Annabeth live on the other side of town?” Jason asked once Percy had caught up to him. Percy slumped his shoulders.

“Annabeth said she got the paper covered and to go home. I think she is mad at me or something. Maybe she’s just stressed from school.” Percy replied. “I didn’t think you would be taking this route home. Don’t you live of 5th in the Mark?”

“Yeah, but I have to go to Nico’s house to go do the paper that your girlfriend got covered. Nico would kill me if I let him do it by himself. And from what I have seen in that apartment, he might actually do it and hide my body.” Jason said, seeing Nico’s building coming up. “Hey, want to come and join us? I don’t think Nico would mind you tagging along for a while.”

Percy stiffened. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Eliana hates my guts. The last time I was there, she chased me out the house with a broom and a pistol.”

Jason stifled a laugh. “What did you do?” Percy shrugged.

“Don’t know. One day, we’re all fine and friends. The next, she wants to kill me. I didn’t push her.” They arrived at the front of Nico’s building. “Well, see you around Jason.” Percy continued to walk down the street. Jason looked after him and went into the building to start climbing the 5 flights of stairs. By the time he reached the door, Jason was ready to ask Eliana what her issue with Percy was. He knocked on the door, but there was no reply. Looking at his phone, He realized that it was too early for Hazel to be home and that Eliana was most likely picking her up right now.

After finding the extra key and entering the house, Jason walked into the living room and set down his bag, only to find Eliana scrambling around in a rather professional outfit. “Hey Jason, I can’t talk. A deal I made a month ago is about to go through and I have to rush to Norway. Can you stay over this weekend? I don’t like leaving Nico and Hazel alone for a whole weekend while I go play mediator but I don’t have enough time to ask Reyna to come watch them and I think she has a competition this weekend anyway so since I know you won’t destroy my house.” She asked rapidly, holding one high heel and dragging a rolling bag behind her. Jason blinked twice.

“Um, sure. We have a project to get done anyway. Do you want me to stay tonight too? My mom won’t have any problem with it if I tell her it’s for school. Besides, I could get out of that house this weekend. My sister is coming back and things get pretty nasty.” Jason said. Biting his lip, he hesitated in asking his first question. “So, I ran into Percy when I was coming over and he said that you didn’t like him. Why?”

Eliana stopped dead in her tracks. “That bastard hurt Nico in more ways than once and he didn’t even realize it. Nico is too set in his ways to tell it to his face. So I got tired of it and told him to stay out of my house and away from Nico.” She almost growled out. “You can stay tonight if you want to. Nico is on the fire escape if you need to get him. Please don’t do anything I wouldn’t. Bye guys. I’ll be back by Sunday afternoon.” As soon as she said that, she was out the door with a pair of heels in her hand and the bag behind her heels.

“Is she gone?” Nico asked from behind him. Jason turned around and blushed.

“Um yeah. Man, you move like a mouse. You should get a bell or something.” Jason mumbled, reaching for his phone. He sent a quick text to his mom saying that he had to stay at Nico’s house to finish last minute papers and a project. She replied with saying that she was sending someone over with clothes.

Nico cocked his head to the side. “I think a bell would ruin the point of sneaking up on people.” He deadpanned. Jason shook his head and put his phone in his pocket.

“Whatever. I’m staying over the next couple of days. Eliana said something about not wanting to leave you two alone. I hope that’s ok?” Jason asked. Nico’s eyes widened for a moment and Jason could have sworn that his cheeks were turning red but he turned away before Jason could tell for sure.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Um, I should go get Hazel. You…can order take out I guess? Bye.” Nico replied, rushing out the door. Jason stared at the closed door and wondered what the hell was wrong with this family. Shrugging, He went to grab Nico’s laptop and start working on their project for chemistry. Something about Avocado’s number.

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

Waking up in Friday morning, Jason noticed 3 things. It was 6:30, meaning that he was late for football practice. Two, the room was a lot darker and a lot smaller than usual. And the final observation was that there was a warm shape next to him that had something thrown over his waist. The third observation caught his attention pretty quickly. He looked around and realized that he was in Nico’s room, with the laptop and notes still splayed on the edge of the bed. Nico was curled up- next to him, an arm thrown around Jason’s waist, looking adorable. They must have fallen asleep when they were finishing up the last report. Jason shook Nico’s shoulder gently, causing the boy to groan.

“Five more minutes. I don’t need breakfast.” Nico grumbled.

“Um Nico?” Jason said quietly. Somehow, this caused Nico to open his eyes quickly and scramble way, falling off the bed. Jason crawled over to the other side. “Are you okay?”

“What the hell are you doing in my bed!”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “We fell asleep doing the research paper. Now answer my question.”

“I’m fine.” Nico slowly got up. Jason watched the boy for a second before shrugging.

“If you say so. I’m going to take a quick shower. Be right back.” Nico nodded and walked out of the room. Something was going on with Nico. Jason was sure about it. And he was going to find out what.

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

It was Sunday afternoon already and Jason and yet to figure out what was wrong with Nico. Every time he brought up what happened Friday morning, Nico would change to subject or distract Jason with something. Hell, he had even tried to use Hazel as a distraction, to which she said that she was going to stay with Piper for the weekend so that ‘they could work in peace’. They had finished their project on Avadgro’s (Jason still wanted to call him Avocado but Nico smacked him upside the head the last time and for a small kid, he sure could hit hard) number and were just waiting for either Hazel or Eliana to come back. Now they were just watching some old cartoon while Nico was looking at something on his computer.

“So Nico, about what happened on Friday morning-“

“Hey, I just got this new horror movie from Britain. Do you-” Nico interrupted.

“Stop that.” Jason said before Nico could continue. Nico shot him a look of confusion.

“Stop what?”

“Changing the subject every time I bring up Friday morning. You’ve been doing it all weekend and it is getting annoying.” Jason stated, sitting up. Nico glared at Jason.

“I am not changing the subject. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do. You’re doing it right now!” Jason exclaimed. “Look, I don’t know what I did but if you hate me or something, then just say it.”

“I don’t hate you.” Nico said a little too quickly. Jason raised an eyebrow and stood up.

“Bull. If you don’t hate me, then why are you avoiding talking about Friday morning? So we fell asleep on your bed, whatever. But you’re acting like I’m a disease or something and I am getting kind of insulted. I don’t care if you hate me, even though I thought that we were becoming friends, but if you don’t think so it’s fine. I just want to know.”

"I don’t hate you. Just drop it Jason.” Nico warned him, putting the laptop down. He looked like he was going to bolt or fight. Jason wasn’t going to let that happen. He was getting an answer if it killed him. “No. Tell me what the problem is.”

“There is no problem. Just drop it. I don’t hate you. Leave it at that.” Their voices were rising slowly to shouts. One of the neighbors was probably going to come over and start banging on the door, telling them to shut up, but Jason didn’t care and from the look in his eyes, neither did Nico.

“If you don’t hate me, then what is it Nico?”

“I like you!” Nico yelled, obviously pushed to the edge. Jason’s eyes widened as he tried to process this information. “I have a fucking crush on you. Is that what you wanted to hear, Grace? I like you and I didn’t want to tell you because we are stuck as chemistry partners for the rest of the school year but since you decided to be a dick and question me, even though I told you to fucking drop it, her it is. I like you and waking up next to you was way too close. Now go freak out and leave me alone.”

The room was silent. Nico glared at Jason, daring him to say anything, waiting for his suspicions to be confirmed. But Jason, despite saying that he thought things through and didn’t jump into situations without think, was almost as impulsive as Percy sometimes. Prime example of the year? Grabbing Nico’s face and kissing him like the world depended on it. Nico immediately froze for two seconds before pushing the blonde away. Jason landed on the coffee table, giving Nico enough room to stand up.

“Is this some type of sick joke? Kiss the guy that just confessed to you? Is this a game to you?” Nico snarled. Jason stood up.

“No! Why would I joke about that? No, I like you too.” Jason blurted out, before blushing. “I-I’m bad a feelings and confessions. And relationships. Love in general. Most things kind of go over my head until you point it out. And-”Jason was pretty sure that he would have continued to make a fool of himself if Nico had grabbed and kissed him then. Jason froze for a moment, before joining in eagerly. Soon they were on the couch with Nico on top of Jason, making out. Which was exactly when the door opened and the clicking of heels were heard.

“Hey guys, I’m b-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING ON MY COUCH!” Elaina shrieked, making them pull apart instantly. Nico sat up so quickly, he fell off the couch and Jason and landed on the floor, not that Eliana seemed to notice. She was staring at the couch in horror. “WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT ON MY COUCH? THE ONE THING I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO AND YOU DID IT ON MY COUCH. NO SEXUAL INTERACTIONS ON THE COUCH OR COUNTER! IS THAT SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND?”

“Eliana calm down.” Nico said weakly. She turned towards him for the first time.

“I will not calm down! You-you were fornicating on my couch!” She yelled.

“Elaina? Are you ok dear?” Another voice called from the hallway. A man appeared with Eliana’s bag. He had platinum blonde hair and icy blue eyes, with distinct Norwegian features. Eliana sighed and grabbed her purse from his hand.

“Drop the bags Jack. We have to go buy a new couch since Nico has ruined the previous one.” She ordered. The man put the bags down obediently and waved at Nico.

“Nice to see you as always, Mr. di Angelo. I should go chase my fiancée down before she leaves me. Good day.” He stated before walking out the door. Jason stared at the man.

“Elaina’s engaged? Who was that?”

Nico sighed and got off the floor. “That was Jake. Last time I checked, he was just her boyfriend but apparently that changed. He lives in Norway during the winter and fall because he is VP of a big company over there. It’s weird seeing him with her. They’re polar opposites.” Nico explained, sitting back on the couch. Jason sat up and grabbed Nico’s hand hesitantly. When the boy didn’t pull away, he tightened his grip.

“Well, I guess Thomson was correct.”

“What?” Nico turned towards him. Jason grinned and lightly kissed his nose, causing Nico to blush.

“Opposites attract.”

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

**Epilogue**

Nico was squished. Literally, he was squished between Eliana and Hazel, who were both jumping up in excitement. Everyone in the stands had coats and scarves on, since the chilly breeze of October had finally hit New York. This included Nico, who was wearing his very warm aviator’s jacket, black gloves, and a bright blue scarf that Jason had given him at the beginning of fall. Nico smiled slightly at the thought of his blonde Superman. It had been 3 weeks since they had first gotten together on that Sunday afternoon and Nico had been pretty happy since then. Not a lot changed. They still did their school work at Nico’s house and hung out on the weekends with Hazel and Eliana and sometimes Frank. There was just hand holding and a few kisses exchanged now (a cuddling during movie nights but Nico would never admit it) but they had decided not to tell everybody yet. For one, neither of them were fully out of the closet. Nico had finally told most of their shared friends (well those who didn’t already know) and Jason had told his sister. But Jason’s stepmom was still an obstacle neither of them were ready to tackle and Nico didn’t want everyone in their business. The only ones who knew were Eliana, Hazel, Frank, and Reyna. (And probably Piper but Nico decided to ignore that one.)

But the terrible thing about dating a football player? You were expected to go to the games. And at the beginning, they weren’t that bad, but with the cold setting in, Nico was wondering how he could get out of them. But that didn’t matter at this point. It was the last 30 seconds of the game and their team only needed one touchdown to win the game, which meant that they had a shot at play offs this year.

_And number 52, Frank Zhang, has the ball. And he passes it! Look at it go. Pass complete by number 23, Jason Grace. He’s off! 20 more yards to go! That boy is flying down the field! 10 yards…5 yards…and Touchdown! Jason Grace has made the winning touchdown and had giving Athens High School a chance at the playoffs! It will be the first time in 4 years since we have gotten this opportunity! The fans are rushing out of the stands and onto the field to congratulate Grace._

And the commentators weren’t kidding when they said running. One minute, Nico is cheering as he sees Jason cross into the end zone and the next, he is being dragged by Hazel and leaping over the fence to reach Jason. His teammates got to him first, holstering him up on their shoulders and chanting his name, but Nico and Hazel had arrived second. Jason was set down and Hazel gave him a big hug and said congrats before going to find Frank. Nico stood in front of Jason and smirked.

“Good job, Superman. Looks like you saved the day again.” He joked. Jason had a giant grin on his face.

“If I’m Superman, then that makes you Lois Lane right?”

Nico frowned slightly. “Yeah, I guess. But what does-“

“Then I need my congratulations kiss.” With that, Jason wrapped an arm around Nico’s waist and pulled him into a kiss. Nico automatically put his arms around Jason’s Neck and pulled him closer. It was only after Jason pulled away that Nico remembered where he was. It appeared Jason did too. Letting go of each other, they turned to see that the crowd was staring at them in silence. It was broken though when Percy let out a whistle and turned towards Annabeth.

“That will be 10 bucks, Wise Girl. Told you these two were dating.” He said. Money was being exchanged throughout the crowd. Nico blushed and gave Percy a glare.

“You were betting on our relationship?”

Percy grinned. “Yep! 3 cheers for Jason and his boyfriend Nico!” The crowd roared, causing both of them to blush. Jason smiled slightly and wrapped an arm around Nico.

“Looks like we’re out.” Nico gave him a glare.

“Let go of me, you’re sweaty. I’ll wait outside for you. But take a shower.” Nico commanded, getting out of Jason’s grip and walking towards the exit. Jason chuckled.

“Don’t be like that Nico!”

Eliana came over and put a hand on Jason’s shoulder. “Good job Grace. Seems like you scored twice today.” She said. A creepy grin came across her face. “Speaking of which, I haven’t given you the talk. Come on Grace, get going. Let’s get this over with.”

As she walked away, Jason was still grinning. He was perfectly happy with things. “Congratulations, Mr. Grace. I see that you are having a good night.” A voice said. Jason turned. Ms. Demenchi was smiling at him, a knowing look in her eyes. “It seems like my experiment worked.”

“What experiment?”

Ms. Demenchi smile grew. “I redid the Thomson experiment, Mr. Grace. It seems that it still stands today.” After that, began to walk away. “You’re welcome, Mr. Grace.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting the Parents Part1

“My dad wants to meet you.” Nico choked on his hot chocolate at those words, making Eliana snort at him. Jason gave him a curious look.

“W-what?” was his very intelligent response. It was one of the nights where they didn’t have Chemistry homework but they just wanted to hang out. Thankfully, Ms. Demenchi understood that the day back from Thanksgiving break was a very stressful day and gave them a day off. Jason took a sip of his own hot chocolate and looked at the floor.

“I came out to my parents yesterday. I swear it was just going to be that, but one thing led to another and we got into a fight and it slipped out. And so my dad wants to meet you since he wasn’t there last time.” Jason explained. This time, even Hazel rolled her eyes.

“It was probably a good thing that he wasn’t there last time. It didn’t really turn out well.” Nico mumbled. Jason nodded and tapped Nico’s knee with his. “When does he want to meet?”

“Well, he actually wants to meet your whole family. This Friday. If that’s alright with you guys.” Eliana nodded and looked at the calendar.

“Yeah that sounds, wait is it already December 5th? Shit!” Eliana jumped off the couch and set down her hot chocolate. Nico gave her a confused look.

“What’s wrong, Smith?”

“Shit shit shit! I thought that it was a week earlier! Oh lord, she is going to be here any minute and nothing is ready and where is she even going to sleep? Fuck, this is what happens when I get told about this only a week before.” She was mumbling under her breath, clearing away the dishes and generally running around like a manic.

“Who is coming? What are you talking about? Eliana!” Hazel called. Eliana stopped and started fidgeting with her hands.

“Well, you see, the other day I got a call from your father and he told me that-” she was cut off by the sound of the door opening, prompting everyone to scramble for a weapon. Before Jason knew it, Hazel had a machete in her hand, and Nico had an actual sword. That was not allowed, Jason was pretty sure. Eliana however, looked extremely pissed and holding a vase. “Where in hell did you get a key to the apartment?”

“I got them from the landlord when I bought the apartment, Ms. Smith.” A high voice called as the person entered the living room. Jason had never seen the girl, but he could guess who she was. She looked a lot like Nico, except tanner and with longer hair, although not that much longer. Nico really did need a haircut. She had two suitcases in her hands, which she promptly dropped when she saw who was in the living room. “Nico!”

“Bianca?” Nico asked in shock. Hazel looked extremely uncomfortable at this whole situation. Jason remembered that Hazel had only been with Nico and Eliana since the summer, so she would have never seen Bianca. Eliana, however, was still upset.

“One, you never bought the apartment. I did actually. Two, that doesn’t mean that you can walk in here like you still live here. And three, how about I get some more time to prepare before you decide to drop by for a quick trip.” Eliana said. Bianca rolled her eyes.

“You are overreacting, Ms. Smith. I still have the right to live here. My father was the one that gave you the money to pay for it. And you had plenty of time to prepare for me. You not being prepared just tells me how responsible you are and how you are taking care of Nico.” Bianca responded. Eliana grinded her teeth.

“It is always a wonderful time when you are around, Bianca.” Eliana said sarcastically before looking over at Hazel. “Oh, I want you to meet someone. This is Hazel, your half-sister. She joined us this past summer.” She gestured to Hazel, who was still sitting on the couch. Eliana seemed extremely defensive about Hazel, like she was ready to fight Bianca if she rejected Hazel, which Jason suspected she was. Bianca was silent for a second before smiling and opening her arms.

“I always wanted a little sister. Nico stopped letting me put him in dresses when he turn 7 and I am so glad that I finally have a sister. I have so much to talk to you about. We must go out for lunch while I’m here.” Bianca announced, pulling Hazel into a hug. Hazel made a slight squeaking noise, but returned the hug. Jason, on the other hand, chortled at Bianca’s words.

“Wait, you were put in dresses as a kid? Do you have pictures of that? You must have looked adorable! I have to see them!” Jason asked, still laughing at the mental picture. Nico blushed bright red and sent him a glare.

“You are not seeing those pictures and it was not hilarious! It was pure torture and the only reason she stopped is because I started tearing the dresses up.” Nico shot back, pouting now. Jason held his arms open as an invitation to come sit with him, but Nico gave him a huff. And then he sat on the arm rest next to Jason, letting the blonde wrap an arm around his waist.

Bianca looked extremely shocked at this transaction, making Jason realize that Nico probably hadn’t told her about him yet. He wasn’t even sure of Nico’s father, the looming darkness that Jason wasn’t really sure about in general, knew about them. “And who are you?”

All four of them froze and looked at Nico expectantly. Sure Jason had told his parents about them, on accident, but Nico was slightly worried about telling his sister and father. Nico cleared his throat as Jason took his arm off his waist.

“Bianca, this is Jason. My chemistry partner.” He said, biting his lip before taking a deep breath. “And my boyfriend.” The air was silent for a while before Bianca glared at Jason.

“If you dare hurt my baby brother, I swear I will-”

“Castrate me, burn my body, take my ashes, place them in acid, and then pour the acid into a bucket of feces so that I can be surrounded by the same filth that I was as a human in death. No trace will be left and you father will get rid of all evidence.” Jason and Eliana said in unison. Bianca blinked rapidly. Eliana smirked.

“I already gave him the shovel talk. It was fun. After that, we had some Thai food and watched Grease 2. Don’t worry, Jason is like an overgrown puppy. He couldn’t harm a fly.” Eliana stated. Hazel nodded.

“After Frank, Jason is the most lovable and harmless person I have ever met.” She said. They all nodded in agreement. Jason watched as the air was filled in awkward silence.

“So, are you all coming to dinner this Friday?” He asked again. Bianca tilted her head.

“Dinner?”

“Jason’s dad wants to meet me formally and apparently decided that dinner was the best place to do that. Except he wants to meet everyone. And so we are apparently having a family dinner with our whole family.” Nico explained. Jason shrugged.

“If it makes you feel better, my sister is flying in to be at the dinner too. Dad asked her to come and ‘meet your brother’s new boyfriend. Apparently no one in our bloodline is straight.’ Those were his exact words.” Jason looked at the clock. “I’ve gotta run. See you tomorrow. And remember, Friday. At 6 sharp. Dinner will be ready at 6:15.”

Getting up, he waved bye to Hazel and Eliana, shook Bianca’s hand, and walked towards the front door with Nico following him. As they got to the door, Nico let out a sigh. “Do I really have to go to this?”

Jason smiled and gave Nico a quick peck on the lips. “Yes, you do. It won’t be that bad. My dad will be there, so Hera will be more contained. And my dad is going to love you. I know it.”

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

“This is going to be fun.” Eliana said as they went up the elevator. Nico turned to glare at her. They were all wearing nicer clothes than usual, with Eliana in a deep red strapless dress that had a giant poof at the skirt and a leather jacket, going with some black heeled boots that he had seen her wear once. Hazel was wearing a more floral assemble, reminding him of something Persephone would approve of. It was a high waist pink skirt with flower designs all over it, a white button up shirt that had a black blazer over it, and some flats. Bianca, on the other hand, was in an army green button up shirt, black skinny jeans, and her school jacket over it, with her army boots. It was still astounding to Nico that this all girls academy was a military school that trained girls for the military so that they could serve once they turned 18 and give them a college education. Technically, Bianca was in the army right now. She just hadn’t been sent abroad to do her service yet. That would be next year.

“I think we have two different definitions of fun.” He huffed. He was forced to dress somewhat nice too, with Eliana forcing him into a black button up shirt and deep red vest that he had worn once to a business trip that she dragged him to. She even forced him in skinny jeans, which were better than slacks by an inch or two. Bianca rolled her eyes at her baby brother.

“It won’t be that bad Nico. His parents aren’t going to hate you. And besides, what’s the worst that could happen?” She asked as they got closer to the floor. “Does Jason live in the penthouse?”

Nico nodded. “Yeah. Entire floor. It’s pretty nice but his step mom is insane. Like, worse than Persephone. I would rather hang out with Persephone than be here right now.” He stated. Both Hazel and Bianca grimaced. Hazel didn’t mind Persephone that much, but she still remember how terrible it had been to first meet her.

“She can’t be that bad.” The elevator doors opened to reveal Hera Rodor standing in front of it, in a similar 1950’s dress she had been wearing the last time Nico was here. “I stand corrected.”

“Welcome to my home! You must be Nico’s family.” Hera said before she could register their faces. More accurately, Eliana’s face. “You! You’re related to him?”

Eliana gave a small smile and stepped out of the elevator. “Hello again Mrs. Rodor. It’s lovely to see you. It looks like you redecorated the last time I was here. I am Nico’s guardian and adopted sister, Eliana Smith.”

Hera frowned. “I thought I made it very clear that I never wanted you in my house again.”

“And yet you invited me here. Funny how that works, isn’t it? Fate is a strange thing.” Eliana said, looking over Hera’s shoulder. “Zeus Rodor, is that you? I haven’t seen you since that Beijing deal we made last May!” Walking past Hera, Eliana went to shake an older gentleman’s hand. He had walked into the foyer just a second ago. He had silver hair and wrinkles in his face, but there was no doubting that he was Jason’s father. He had the same blue eyes.

As he shook Eliana’s hand, he smiled. “I didn’t know that you were related to my son’s boyfriend. Nor did I realize you had a brother.”

Eliana shrugged. “Adopted brother. You actually know his father. My boss, Hades Morte, is Nico’s father.” Zeus suddenly straightened up and looked over at Nico and the other two, who were still standing awkwardly just outside the elevator. After a good look at Nico, he nodded.

“I can see the resemblance. He is from the Italian woman, correct? Maria? A tragedy right there. She was an amazing woman.” He said, walking over to the rest of them. Hazel stepped forward quietly and held out her hand for Hera to shake.

“I am Hazel Levesque, Nico’s half-sister. It is nice to meet you.” She said politely. Hera smiled at her.

“You are a beautiful young lady. How old are you?”

Hazel smiled slightly. “I’m 13.” By this time, Zeus had reached them and shook Hazel’s hand as well. “It is nice to meet you as well sir.”

“Anyone from the Morte family is welcome in these doors. Your father and I go back.” He replied, turning towards Nico and Bianca. Bianca smiled and held out a hand.

“Bianca di Angelo, Nico’s sister. It’s a please to meet you, Mister Rodor. I just met your son this week actually. He seems like a nice man.” She said.

Zeus grinned with pride. “Yes, isn’t he? You though, look about the same age as my daughter, Thalia. She doesn’t share my last name, but Jason’s. Their mother’s last name is what they chose to keep.” Bianca’s eyes widened.

“Thalia Grace? Top officer at Artemis Academy for Exceptional Young Women?” Bianca squeaked out. Zeus nodded and beamed.

“Yes. She has become a great women thanks to that Academy. Ms. Artemis is a family friend actually. Do you know my daughter?” he asked. Before Bianca could respond, they heard voices coming into the hallway.

“Thals, please don’t do this.”

“If anyone is dating my baby brother, they have to answer to me! And that means interrogation time!” a female voice yelled just as they turned the corner. Bianca immediately paled as Jason and a tall girl came into view. Nico looked back and forth between the two people. The girl didn’t look at all like Jason, except with those electric blue eyes. She had black hair that was in a pixie cut and wearing something that seemed more appropriate for a Fall Out Boy concert than a dinner party. A very distinct difference from Jason’s button up shirt and slacks.

“Thals?” Bianca whispered. The girl whipped her head towards their direction and locked eyes with Bianca.

“B? What are you doing here? I thought you were visiting fami- oh god, please tell me you are not related to my baby brother’s boyfriend?” Thalia replied, closing her eyes. Bianca looked sheepishly.

“Nico is my baby brother. I guess our baby brothers’ are dating each other. How adorable?” she stated. Zeus raised an eyebrow.

“So you do know each other. How, may I ask?”

Before Thalia could say anything, Bianca immediately replied. “We’re roommates at the Academy.” Nico was suspicious at that. Thalia looked at Bianca with an unclear look and nodded.

“Yep, roommates. That’s totally what we are.” It was silent for a minute before Hera clapped her hands.

“Well, how about we move all of this into our parlor for a few minutes while I finish dinner? They are right through these doors. Dinner will be finished in about 10 minutes and we will then move to the dining room. Come along. And remember to remove your shoes at the door.” She said, opening the door directly in front of the elevator lobby. Eliana gave Nico a ‘are you kidding me?’ look, but started to remove her high heeled boots. Bianca was already bending over to untie the combat boots, shucking them off and dropping them by a similar pair. Nico untied his converse that he refused to give up and jogged quietly over to Jason.

“Are you starting to regret this whole dinner party yet?”

Jason rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the ground. “Just a bit. Although, look at it this way. We would have met each other one way or another.” He said sheepishly. Nico rolled his eyes and grabbed Jason’s hand.

“Yeah, at our sisters’ wedding. Come on Superman, you have to endure my family trying to talk to your family for at least another 2 hours.” Nico stated. Jason smiled and squeezed Nico’s hand.

“So do you. This is going to be the awkwardest family dinner in history.”

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   . 

After introductions were finished in the parlor (Nico was pretty sure Jason’s dad was trying to rip off his hand), they had sat there awkwardly for a few minutes. Jason and Nico sat on one of the loveseats directly across from Zeus and Thalia sitting in a pair of armchairs, leaving the girls on the couch in between. Nico was still holding Jason’s hand, though it was more for support than affection. Zeus and Thalia had just been staring at him for a few minutes now, making him uncomfortable. Finally, Eliana spoke up.

“How coincidental is this Zeus? It was only last year that we were talking about permanently partnering the companies and now here we are.” She commented, crossing her ankles. Nico glared at her like the crazy persons she was. Zeus lightly chuckled.

“Just like you, Ms. Smith. Always looking for a deal to make. I see why Hades hired you.” Zeus replied. “Speaking of which, does he know about this relationship?”

“No!” All of them but Thalia and Zeus shouted. Nico coughed in embarrassment, as everyone looked down.

“And we would like to keep it this way for a while Mr. Rodor. My father is a rather busy man that has a rather…distant relationship with all of us. We haven’t found the right time to tell him.” Nico stated. Zeus nodded.

“But you do plan on telling him? I would hate to think that you are ashamed of this relationship with my son.” Even though it sounded like an innocent comment, Nico could tell the venom behind it. And so did the girls, who sat a bit straighter and kept their eyes focused. Nico kept his gaze steady.

“I will tell my father soon. And Jason will meet him and Persephone as well.” Nico confirmed, squeezing Jason’s hand. Jason bumped his shoulder in return. They were small touches, but everyone could see them. Thalia smirked and leaned back.

“You better not hurt him, di Angelo. Military school does wonders.” Thalia stated. Nico held in a snort at that. Bianca stared at Thalia coolly.

“Funny you say that, Thals. It was only this Monday that I threatened your brother the same thing.” She responded. Before anyone could try and hold in their snickers, Hera opened the doors to the parlor.

“Dinner is served. Follow me.” Everyone slowly got up and followed the large swishing of her skirts to the dining room, with Thalia and Bianca now walking side by side and whispering furiously. Eliana raised an eyebrow as she kept in step with Nico.

“So, 20 bucks that your sisters are banging each other.” She whispered to both of them, causing each of them to choke on air and stare at her wide eyed.

“ _Eliana_.” They both hissed at her. She just shrugged and walked a little faster. As Nico walked into the dining room, he couldn’t help but notice that it looked exactly the same as last time, except with more chairs. Once everyone was seated, with Hera and Zeus on opposite ends of the table, Bianca, Thalia and Hazel on one side, and Jason, Nico and Eliana on the other, Hera held out her hands.

“It’s time to say grace.” She announced. Jason and Nico both stiffened as Eliana shifted in her seat. Thalia had reluctantly joined hands with her father, as had Jason, but Nico and his sister just sat there with their hands in their laps.

“Um, actually I am an atheist. We are all in fact. Even Bianca I think. So, I feel uncomfortable praying. But I won’t object to your family praying. I just won’t participate.” Eliana explained. Hera’s smile became more forced.

“We pray in this household, Ms. Smith, and I would appreciate if my guests would respect that. Now join hands.” She ordered. Eliana raised her eyebrow. Nico silently groaned and picked up his fork. This was going to be a while. At least the food looked good. And he didn’t smell any cinnamon, which was a good thing. He would actually be able to eat this time.

“I am respecting your religion. I just told you the reason on why I am not joining, as well as why Nico and Hazel won’t join. You can still pray. I’m just not going to join you.” She repeated. Jason was sitting as straight as a board now, and Zeus was starting to get agitated. Nico looked down at the duck. It looked really good. And they would probably be arguing for a while. Shrugging, Nico took a bite of the duck. As soon as he swallowed it, he knew something was wrong. His mouth was tingling and he could feel his stomach acting up. His lungs felt like they were starting to close up. Coughing, he stumbled from the table.

Jason jumped up. “Nico, are you ok?” Bianca’s eyes widened and she quickly took a bite of the duck, spitting it out.

“Cinnamon! The duck has cinnamon! Nico took a bite of it! Hazel, call 911!” she shouted, running over to Nico. Eliana reached for her purse and pulled out an EpiPen. Running over to Nico, she immediately stabbed him with it in his left thigh. She watched for a few seconds before grimacing.

“Shit, he’s going into an anaphylaxis state. We need to get an ambulance here pronto.” Eliana ordered. Looking down at the EpiPen again, she cursed. “It expired last month. I hadn’t gotten a chance to go down to the doctor’s to refill his prescription.”

Meanwhile, Hazel was already talking on the phone. “Yes, Mark Hotel. On 77th and Madison Avenue. Please hurry. He’s severely allergic. Do we need to take him downstairs?” She nodded and signaled them to the elevator. Jason picked Nico up bridal style and ran over to the elevator door, followed by Hazel and Eliana. Jason was pretty sure that the elevator was going as slow as possible. Eliana kept checking to make sure that Nico didn’t pass out. Thankfully, the elevator reached the main floor and they rushed out, just in time to meet the paramedics at the front entrance. Jason handed Nico to them and Hazel followed quickly behind, tears in her eyes. Nico was still conscious, but barely. Jason looked back to see that his parents had taken the other elevator down and were following them out. Now that Nico had been passed to someone else, Eliana went from calm to panic in seconds.

"I have to call Hades! How am I going to explain this?" Eliana exclaimed, worry on her face. The ambulance sirens wailed as Nico was lifted in. Hazel was climbing in with him, crying and trying to hold Nico’s hand. Meanwhile, Jason’s parents stood on the sidelines, shocked at what was happening. Thalia stepped back out of the Mark with her jacket and motorcycle keys, followed closely by Bianca.

"Look, Bianca and I will follow the ambulance to the hospital since she will be able to get in, being Nico’s sister. You and Jason can leave and meet us up there once everything is settled. It will be ok, Eliana." Thalia said, going towards where she parked her bike. Jason turned to Hera. The anger was boiling inside of him.

"Why did you do it? You knew. You knew about this and yet you still did it. Is it because we were dating? Are you still angry that I am bisexual? Why? Why would you do this to Nico?" He yelled at her. He had never raised his voice at her before. But there was something about seeing someone he cared about be carried out of his home on a stretcher. Hera was still gaping at him.

"I didn’t mean-I don’t-I forgot, Jason I am-oh lord, is he-I-I am so sorry." She finally sputtered out. Before Jason could say anymore, Zeus grabbed his wife’s arm.

"You just sent one of my best partners and longtime friend’s son to the hospital. Do you know the ramifications this could have on my business? Hades could sue me for this. I could lose business. If this makes it on the news, I will be ruined. If that boy dies, it will be on your head. I will divorce you if this happens. Not only because you would ruin my business and image, but also because you would have destroyed Jason’s happiness. It is bad enough that you convinced my daughter to go to a boarding school in New Mexico." Zeus told her sternly. Hera looked at him with wide eyes and a red face. Jason felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on Jason, I have a driver coming to get us to take us to the hospital." Eliana said, sighing. "I hope you’re ready to meet Nico’s dad. Because he is flying in right now. That was him driving to the airstrip. He’ll be here in 4 hours."

Jason nodded, looking down to see that they both did not have shoes on and that Eliana was without her purse. “Let’s go back up and grab our shoes and your purse. How long til the driver gets here?”

She looked back down at her phone and ran her hand through her short hair. The diamond ring on her finger still glistened. Jason had forgotten that Eliana was engaged now. He had seen Jake around every now and then, but he mostly lived in Norway. “It will be here in 10 minutes. The hospital they are taking him to is only a mile away, but we are going to try and keep this off the radar. No doubt this will be in the news tomorrow, since we were at the Mark and your father was seen. Hopefully it doesn’t connect Nico and you in the article. I am going to have to do damage control.”

Jason nodded and went back in to the elevator. “After we check on Nico?”

“Definitely after.”

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

The drive to the hospital was short like Eliana said, but that wasn’t the nail biting part. By the time they had gotten there, with Eliana being on the phone with several different people, Nico was being looked over by the doctor and wouldn’t be able to receive guests until he was given the all clear with his lungs and blood pressure. And even then, it would only be blood relatives or guardians. Which means that Jason would have to wait another 2 hours until he could see Nico for himself. And not only that, but Hades was on his way to see his only son and Jason would be meeting him for the first time. In an emergency room. Because his stepmom had cinnamon in her food. At a dinner party. For the specific reason of meeting Jason’s parents as boyfriends. Fun conversation waiting to happen.

“Jason, he is going to be fine. We reacted fast enough. This isn’t the first time Nico has ended up in the hospital because of his allergy. It has just been a while. And Father always flies in when it comes to Nico’s health.” Bianca reassured Jason. Thalia and her had grabbed a couple of seats in the corner nearest to the hospital doors. Hazel was pacing up and down the aisle, while Eliana had stepped outside to talk to more people. He was pretty sure she was on the phone with the news station, trying to edit the incoming article.

“It’s my fault. I should have asked what was in the meal. I knew about his allergy and my stepmom’s obsession with cinnamon. I should have stopped him.” Jason told her, looking down at his hands. The emergency room was pretty empty, with only one or two other people in the room. Thalia got up and muttered something about going to find a vending machine to get something to drink. Bianca put a hand on his shoulder.

“We all share the blame in this. I should have checked. Eliana should have refilled his prescription. Hera should have never put it in there in the first place. Nico should have asked. You didn't force feed it to him.” She replied. Jason was silent.

“So, good news and bad news.” Eliana stated, walking back to them, her phone gripped tightly in her hand. “Well, I guess it is how you look at it. Hades is going to be here in about three and a half hours, with Persephone. They are going to be staying in the city for a week to make sure Nico is ok. And I got ahold of the news station. They were at the scene and had some footage, but they promised not to release any names. Unfortunately, they are still going to run the story. Which means that someone is going to leak information sooner or later and I will have to do crowd control.”

“So what does this mean for us at this point?” Bianca asked, completely serious. Jason had to say that this was the first time this whole week that they were on the same page. Eliana took a seat next to Bianca, still gripping her phone like it was her lifeline. She seemed a lot more nervous than usual.

“It means that I am going to be in a shit load of trouble when your father gets here. He might fire me and remove Nico and Hazel from my custody. He might even make them move in with him, seeing that Persephone is deciding to try and work out their relationship again. I could lose everything. And then there is the business part of this. If word gets out that the wife of an incredibly important business man tried to kill the son of another incredibly important business man because the son was dating her stepson, well, that is going to be the headline of the year. Nico and Jason could be followed by the media for months, trying to get details on their relationship. It wouldn’t be the first time that the media has harassed the heirs to major businesses.” Eliana explained, side glancing at Bianca. “That is, if he is the heir of the company. You can always accept it. You know your father wants you to run it alongside with Nico and Hazel. He wants the three of you in charge of the company and make it unstoppable.”

“You could take it too, Eliana.” Bianca argued. “With your recent engagement to the VP of a major European company and your friendship with many other CEOs, you would be just as great. And my father does consider you a part of our family, even if it irks me to say it. He isn't going to fire you. Nico would be dead without you, and so would father’s business.”

Eliana leaned back in the chair and sighed. Rubbing her face, she looked like a single mom rather than a 22 year old babysitter. “This is getting too complicated. Most companies don't worry about this. And with Hades’ empire growing by the year, it is going to be a tough decision.” She muttered. “It doesn't matter right now. What matters is Nico’s health. We’ll deal with this business part when Hades comes. Are we allowed to see him yet?”

Hazel had walked over at this point and sat next to Eliana, leaning on her and holding back tears. Jason realized how close of a relationship Eliana and Hazel had. It made sense though. Eliana was the person that took her in after her mom was hospitalized. She helped Hazel get used to a new city and handle a new school. And they were always hanging out together. If Hades were to fire Eliana, Hazel would take it hard.

“The doctor told me that we should be able to see him in 30 minutes or so after they get him stable and check everything. But they won't let Jason in immediately. Family only.” Hazel stated. Eliana scoffed.

“Screw that. Jason, what foreign language do you somewhat know?”

Jason looked at her in confusion. “I know Latin and Spanish. Why?” Eliana nodded.

“Ok when we are allowed to go into the room, I am going to start speaking Spanish and you are going to pretend to be my translator. Nico doesn't know Spanish anyway so it's perfect.” She explained. Jason still felt confused about this whole thing.

“But wouldn't that be weird since you’re his guardian? For you to only speak Spanish and him not understand it? And what if the doctor knows Spanish?” Jason questioned. Eliana rolled her eyes.

“I am his half-sister that just came into the country from Spain after 10 years of being away. I am extremely emotional and can't calm down enough to speak English. You have been my translator for 3 years now. There, story set. Just go along with it and translate it somewhat right.” She decided. Bianca raised her eyebrow.

“Do you even know proper Spain Spanish? I thought you came from Texas.”

“My mom and I moved to Spain when I was 13. I learned the language. Then when I graduated, I moved to Italy with some friends. Learned the language there too. And then after Hades hired me, he let me take courses in Portuguese, Mandarin, Japanese, German, Dutch, and a few other languages. I know enough to be able to travel the world and be able to communicate properly.” Eliana explained. Bianca rolled her eyes.

“Is there anything you can't do?”

Eliana thought for a second. “Science. I am extremely bad at science. It is depressing. All sciences too, which is even worse. I can't whistle. I was terrible at sports. It was the running that always got me. I hate running. And I am unable to play any musical instrument. I couldn't even play the triangle. It was a very depressing experience in high school.” She listed off, counting on her fingers. Bianca snorted at that.

“You can't play the triangle?” Amusement was clear in Bianca's voice. Jason heard a plop next to him and turned to see that Thalia had returned, two Dr. Peppers in her hand. She gave him one and took a sip of her own.

“I wouldn't be laughing much, B. You can’t carry a tune to save your life. I'm pretty sure you are tone deaf.” Thalia stated, making Bianca turn red.

“Am not!” She muttered angrily. Eliana smirked.

“So how long have you two been dating?” She asked.

Before Bianca could answer, Thalia held up 9 fingers. “About 9 months. We're going on 10 in a couple of days.” Bianca continued to blush and nodded shyly. Eliana laughed and put an arm around Bianca.

“It's ok. We all knew it anyway. I was going to start a betting pool on when you would tell us, but you know things happen.” Eliana comforted, failing epically. Before the rest of them could laugh, the door opened to reveal a man in his late 20s with blonde hair and blue eyes. He reminded Jason of a surfer guy, but it was obvious he was the doctor.

“You must be Mr. di Angelo’s family. Well, he is stable and conscious now. And he requested to see a ‘Jason Grace’. I tried to tell him that we don’t allow non family visitors for the first hour or so, but he was adamant. Is there a Jason Grace here?” The doctor asked. Jason stepped forward.

“Um, I’m Jason Grace.”

The doctor smiled. “Doctor Solace, but you can all call me Doctor Apollo. I have been Nico’s doctor before. Now, if you and the rest of Mr. di Angelo’s family will follow me, I will take you to his room.” He told them. Thalia got up, looking at her phone.

“Hey guys, I am going to go back to the house and check to see what happened there. I’ve never seen Dad that mad. I’ll go tell him the good news.” She told them. Jason gave her a quick hug, and Bianca peck her on the cheek before following the others.

“So, Doctor Apollo, Nico is going to be ok right? No permanent damage or anything? He has never lost consciousness before.” Eliana asked. Doctor Apollo smiled at them.

“He is going to be fine. We will keep him in the hospital for about 8 hours to watch him and make sure that he doesn’t have a second attack. It happens sometimes, so it is just a safety precaution. But he is otherwise fine.”

Jason let out a sigh of relief. That was great news. Nico would be out of here by tomorrow morning. But why did he want to see Jason? Maybe he was just trying to make sure that he got into the room. But what if he wanted to break up? Jason grew pale at that thought. This wasn’t the first time that Hera had put cinnamon in a dish with Nico around. What if he decided that it was better to break up than continue the relationship that almost killed him? Jason became more nervous as they got closer to the room. Eliana must have noticed, making her bump his shoulder with hers.

“Calm down. Nico probably just wants to make sure you don't blame yourself for all of this. After all, we all know you have a bit of a hero complex. It will be ok.” She comforted him. Jason nodded and gave her a small smile, but the ball of nerves was still rolling around in his stomach. They stopped at the door at the very end of the hallway. Doctor Apollo all smiled at them and opened the door, gesturing for them to go in first. Eliana and Bianca rushed in, with Hazel following seconds later. Jason took a breath and slowly walked behind them, smiling weakly. Nico was laying in the bed, wearing the standard hospital gown and covered by a blanket, IV’s in his arms. Jason’s smile faltered for a second, right before Nico made eye contact with him and gave him a weak smile in return.

“Hey there Superman.”


End file.
